The criticism is deserved, but it shouldn’t be interpreted as a sign of uncertainty regarding Murray’s future. He was a major reason, if not the reason, the Cardinals found themselves in contention last season.

“He is a dual-threat quarterback and when he’s healthy, he scares every defensive coordinator, and he has a chance to change the game with his feet or with his arm,” Cardinals owner Michael Bidwill said of Murray. “I think Monti has done a very good job of building a running game and strong offensive line even though we had injuries to our offensive line last year. I think that’s what we got to do. It was [Kyler’s] second year in Drew Petzing’s offense. When you look at it, I feel like we got to continue to rely on him. He’s got to play at a high level, and he knows that.

“He’s working hard, I see him in the training facility continuing to work even in the offseason. He needs to take the next step. We are excited about our future with Kyler. He’s a great quarterback. You look at the rest of the league, there are so many teams that would love to have Kyler Murray, and I think we need to continue to build around that offense for him.”

There was also the matter of first-round pick Marvin Harrison Jr., a highly touted, incredibly talented receiver who only occasionally displayed his abilities in his first season. He and Murray never seemed to get on the same page, and while other rookies (Brian Thomas Jr., Malik Nabers, Jalen McMillan) thrived elsewhere, Harrison felt like a bit of a wasted commodity in Arizona.

As important as roster construction will be to the Cardinals, asset maximization will also be paramount. A franchise can’t simply continue forward without making a top pick a key focus.

“We couldn’t be happier with Marvin. The guy scored touchdowns for us; the guy was our second leading receiver behind a tight end who had a historic season in Trey McBride,” Ossenfort said. “Are there things Marvin has to do better and has to improve on? Absolutely. The encouraging thing about Marvin is that every day that I’ve been in the office since the season ended, there hasn’t been a day that’s gone by that Marvin is not in there. Marvin is wired to improve and Marvin is a football player. Marvin, Kyler and the rest of the offense are going to continue to grow that relationship. … Marvin means a lot to our team and he’s only going to get better.”

So, what have we learned? Apparently, all of the Cardinals’ key players are in the building working toward 2025. Their decision-makers are likely doing the same. Now, it’s about unifying those efforts toward one common goal.

Don’t be surprised if some new faces hop on board along the way, too.

“We’re so close,” Bidwill said. “This is such a competitive division. With a few more pieces this offseason, I feel like we’ve got the right combination of coaching, players, roster, to take the next step.”